Teenagers who received tape of girl's alleged rape risk ending up on sex offenders register

A child cyber safety expert has warned that teenagers who shared a video of a 15-year-old boy allegedly raping a sleeping girl could be put on a sex offenders register, the ABC reports.

NSW Police have begun investigating the alleged rape of the teenage girl who had been unconscious during a party in Sydney's eastern suburbs earlier this month. The teenager accused of raping the girl is a student at an exclusive Sydney school.

Police have also charged another teenage boy for filming the alleged rape on his mobile phone and distributing it among at least 50 other teenagers.

On Monday, he appeared in Sydney's Children's Court charged with the production and distribution of child abuse.

Susan McLean, a school cyber safety consultant, told the ABC the alleged incident may lead to serious legal fallout for those who shared the footage.

"Rape is [still the more serious offence], and I think there is multiple facets to this whole incident," she said.

"There is the initial rape, and that sexual assault there. There's the fact the alleged perpetrator of the rape asked his mate to film it. There's the agreement of the mate to allegedly film it, and then of course there's the sharing, allegedly, of that footage."